Cooking oil turns into cash for Pitt County schools

The manager of 5 Guys Burgers in Greenville says they use about 700 gallons of cooking oil a week. When it gets old, they dump it into barrels from the Biodiesel 4 Schools program. Then, Green Circle of Fayetteville picks it up.

"As soon as we start picking up the oil that oil is a commodity, and it can be turned into cash almost immediately," said Dean Price, Co-Owner of Green Circle.

The oil becomes liquid cash when it is sold to a biodiesel plant, and half that money goes back into Pitt County Schools.

"The same people that are patronizing the restaurants, we're asking those restaurants to help support the schools," said Price.

There will be a decal on the window or door of the restaurant letting customers know they support the Biodiesel 4 Schools program.

"It's neat that the money comes back to the classroom and impacts the kids," said Seth Brown, Principal of Chicod School.

Chicod School will be receiving a thousand dollar check as a result of the Biodiesel 4 Schools program.

"It's an easy way to give back and if you look at it, old oil is sometimes trash, but this way we turn it into treasure," said Brown.

Extra money to a school may mean a few extra books or a field trip. By 2017, Pitt County School System plans to have a self-sustained program so the cooking oil never leaves the county.

Copyright 2012 by WCTI12. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Comments

The views expressed are not those of WCTI12.com, WCTI NewsChannel 12 or its affiliated companies. By posting your comments, you agree to accept our terms of use.